Calendonia Drive, Eltham North 3095 Ph: 9431 1599 Fax:9431 0686 OSHC Ph: 9431 2503 www.glenkps.vic.edu.au/ Office Hours: 8.00am– 4.00pm

Email: glen.katherine.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au

LINKLETTER

Issue 1 4th February 2019

Children, Teachers, Parents: A partnership for the future

LEANNE’ S COMMUNICATIONLEANNE’ S COMMUNICATIONLEANNE’ S COMMUNICATIONLEANNE’ S COMMUNICATION

LEANNE’ S COMMUNICATIONLEANNE’ S COMMUNICATIONLEANNE’ S COMMUNICATIONLEANNE’ S COMMUNICATION

Welcome to our 2019 year

A great start to our year has been had with lots of sparkly smiles and eagerness walking through the gates from day one. I trust you had time to reboot as a family—we’re ready to hit 2019 together.

LINKLETTER out on MONDAY each fortnight

This year our Linkletter will be shared every second Monday. Historically it has come out on Thursday which aligned to assemblies taking place Monday mornings. This allowed key, relevant information to be disseminated to families a few days before the next assembly, particularly upcoming presentations for students. This can now occur with families able to access awards, presentations, celebrations and performance information before the upcoming Friday assemblies. So keep a look out on Mondays.

Our Preps have started! Last week we were able to work with the more ‘experienced’ students in our school. Today we see our newest members of our community join us. Our 78 Prep students officially begin their school life with us and there really isn’t as memorable time as this. We have experienced lots of smiles and excitement as the preps learn what it looks like to be a big school person. Our Prep Team are enjoying getting to know every child personally and we can’t wait to see them flourish in this important first year.

To begin our Prep first day our PFA were on hand to offer a biscuit, cuppa and a little comfort if needed at our Cheers and Tears morning tea. Thank you to this team of parent volunteers.

OPEN AFTERNOON—come join us

Tuesday 19th February is our annual Open Afternoon across the school. All classrooms and specialist areas will have doors open for you to come inside and familiarise yourself with the learning areas your children will find themselves in this year. This afternoon is very informal, providing the opportunity for families to meet teachers and see the classroom environment. It also allows the children to show you around. Classrooms will be open between 3.10pm and 4.30pm. More formal Parent Teacher Interviews are scheduled in the last two weeks of term.

SENTRAL PARENT PORTAL

Over the break some staff have been seeking to enhance how we communicate through SENTRAL with you. Our ultimate goal this year is to have SENTRAL ONLY as the communication platform for our families. This means eventually the website, Skoolbag and paper notices will not be used. Qkr also may be removed for everything except canteen, uniform & OHSC.

While we are very close to making this occur, we do not wish to remove everything before ‘troubleshooting’ for problems that will cause community distress and frustration. Watch this space!

In the interim, we do aim to share all information that would normally come home to families at this time of year in a paper pack through the portal. The Year level information/bulletins, Headlice notices, Internet Agreements etc will be shared with families, all going well, by the end of this week.

We understand that there have been some reporting glitches and other little hiccups regarding passwords etc. We are still learning and with any learning process there are bound to be hiccups. I request your patience and ongoing communication if you feel there is something we need to know. Our Admin Team are also always avail-able to assist where needed.

SMELLY BOYS TOILETS may be no more We know the boys toilets have smelled for years despite our cleaners bleaching, spraying and doing everything seemingly possible to change this. It has been a frustration for us all. Over the break resurfacing of the floor took place which we hope has solved this lingering problem. It seems much better to start the year, thankfully for our boys, but we will watch this closely.

Leanne ‘s message continued furtherLeanne ‘s message continued furtherLeanne ‘s message continued furtherLeanne ‘s message continued further

SAFETY IN OUR SCHOOL—Carpark and Drop Off An important reminder to drive safely and at appropriate speed limits in our carpark and drop off area. A 15km speed limit is expected and we expect all drivers to adhere to this. When using the drop off the procedure is for all cars to continue driving until the point of stopping. Stopping midway to allow children to exit at a spot suitable to them is unsafe and prevents flow of traffic. Likewise, it is important that children exit cars at point of stopping, even if it is not at the top of the hill. A small walk up the hill will not harm children, I promise. At the end of the day, the drop off is a fluid process that should not see cars parked waiting for more than a few minutes for children. If your child is not present at the time of you mov-ing through the drop off, you must exit the school and loop again until children are present. These procedures help keep our children safe and encourages respectful actions for all members of our community.

Can I ask all parents to inform any family members who may have the responsibility of drop Off or Pick Up of these expectations as it is commonly relatives that may not be using our processes safely and appropriately.

CHILD SAFETY & SUPERVISION TIMES What happens if my child is too early or too late at school We want your children to be safe and feel connected when they are at school. We do at times see children entering school very, very early—some as early as 7.50am. Very late pick ups from school have also occurred. We understand that sometimes circumstances prevent timely drop off and pick up and we will en-sure your children remain safe and cared for. However habitual lateness should not be a norm. Our school is only supervised by yard duty teachers from 8.25am at the front of the school near the entry. Staff may or may not be in their personal classroom from 8.00am due to meetings or collegial visits. This is also the case after school.

Unless with a parent, we ask students to not be in the school yard earlier than 8.15am unless specifically requested by staff who will be meeting with them. We encourage any Prep or Junior School students to arrive even later unless with siblings. This ensures there are many people around to increase safety and limit concerns for students.

After school supervision remains at the front crossing area until 3.15pm. Staff are around the school during this time however from 3.15pm, they may be moving to meetings or appointments which removes line of sight to any students in the yard.

If your child is found to be at school very early it is our common practice to deliver them to our Out of School Hours Care Program (OHSC), which has the purpose of caring for children whose parents need morning/afternoon supervision and care for them. This is also the case after school. If your child is still at school at 3.30pm, they will join the OHSC. This is a service that will incur a cost associated with it which par-ents will be required to pay.

At times we may have children required to come to the front office to wait for an adult to pick them up as this has been communicated with our Admin Team earlier. This practice will be allowed occasionally but should not be seen as a normal practice for families. Like teachers, the Admin Team have responsibilities and tasks to complete before the day ends that will not allow them to adequately supervise children. The Office area is not the space for ongoing supervision and any children consistently being picked up from the office after school will be directed to the OHSC after communication with parents.

We will always ensure your children are safe, supervised and cared for however we do ask our families to be respectful of our processes and procedures and work together in this.

Hot weather

It is great to see our children coming to school prepared for our hot weather this term. We have had some terribly hot days so it is critical that a hat and water bottle comes to school daily. A nice idea on extremely hot days could be to provide two water bottles, one frozen that could be used later in the day. Using sunscreen on exposed body parts before coming to school is also advisable. Under new DET policy, we do not provide sunscreen at school but teachers will encourage children to add more before going outside if they have their own roll on in their bag. Any children without hats outside during our SunSmart months will be directed to play in the undercover area for the duration of lunch/recess. If the temperature reaches more than 35, a hot weather timetable will be called at lunch and/or recess that will see children kept inside in the cooled classrooms. Hot or wild, windy weather could also impact our weekly Friday assembly, with a decision to cancel on the day communicated to parents as promptly as possible.

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LEANNE’ S COMMUNICATION CONTINUEDLEANNE’ S COMMUNICATION CONTINUEDLEANNE’ S COMMUNICATION CONTINUEDLEANNE’ S COMMUNICATION CONTINUED

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LEANNE’ S COMMUNICATION CONTINUEDLEANNE’ S COMMUNICATION CONTINUEDLEANNE’ S COMMUNICATION CONTINUEDLEANNE’ S COMMUNICATION CONTINUED

COMMUNICATION with staff, school We are here for you - to discuss issues, concerns and share positive growth and ‘noticings’ about your children. We sincerely want a partnership that allows us to work together to ensure every child flourishes. For this reason we encourage open, honest communication that remains respectful and aligned to the intent of GK maintaining a positive culture. To begin the school year, many relationships are new and will need to be fostered. It is critical that communication between parents and staff remains strong and open.

Staff are available for quick conversation before and after school most times. Meetings and daily preparation however can prevent staff being readily available so I ask that parents make an appointment at a suitable time to all for longer discussion. This can be requested via email, phone or a quick touch base with relevant staff.

Aligned to our desire for a positive culture, I encourage parents to seek further clarification about negatively geared schoolyard discussion and information that they may not know a lot about before sharing this further with others. This includes information regarding staff, programs or community happenings. Information and experiences can at times be misinterpreted and misconstrued which causes unnecessary concern in our community due to individual perceptions about staff or school ‘happenings’ being shared. I can assure all our parents that every action we take is done with positive intent for your child and for this reason want to do the very best we can. We actively teach your children about how damaging gossip, rumours, bullying and put downs are to each other and our environment and how we each need to be responsible in putting a stop to this. GK has no place for negativity—we’ve got bigger things to focus on and your children are right at the centre so please support us by communicating respectfully and effectively.

Our Communication process if it is required:

Student concern/information:

1. Your child’s classroom teacher is the first point of call. Make a time to discuss your concerns face-to-face, via email or phone.

2. If the concern has not been addressed within a reasonable timeframe, further communication with a team leader may need to occur. A leader of the team will meet with you and the classroom teacher to look into this further.

3. If the concern continues, a meeting with Shannon Whelan (Welfare), the Teaching and Learning Leader and/or myself will need to occur. Please note: This step should only be enacted once step 1 & 2 have been followed.

Student wellbeing concern/circumstance:

1. Your child’s classroom teacher remains the first point of call. Make a time to discuss your concerns face-to-face, via email or phone.

2. If the concern/circumstance is sensitive or requires a higher level of support than the classroom teacher can provide, communication with Shannon Whelan (Assistant Principal-Welfare and Wellbeing) will need to occur. Please note: You will need to make an appointment with Shannon. She is not readily available immediately through a visit to the front office or by phoning as student needs and responsibilities across the school day to day prevent this. Shannon will address your con-cerns as soon as possible.

3. If the concern continues or management of your child’s needs are deemed to be not being met, make contact with me as soon as possible. (phone, email, meeting). Please note: This step should only be enacted once step 1 & 2 have been followed.

Staff concern

If you have a concern or complaint regarding a staff member please contact me as soon as possible. I can be contacted via school email, or phone. A scheduled meeting time can also be organised.

If at times we fail in our intent to communicate as clearly as you would like please let us know. We will make mistakes and fail at times but, respectful communication from you will assist us in strengthening our communication means.

Have a wonderful week.

Leanne TingwellLeanne TingwellLeanne TingwellLeanne Tingwell

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Social and Emotional Learning

SEL @ GK

Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) is the development through which people develop and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve goals, feel and show empathy for oth-ers, establish and maintain positive relationships and make responsible decisions. SEL impact is long term!

Through targeted SEL lessons, (every day for the first 2 weeks and then weekly), that have explicit dialogue and modelling students will be focusing on topics that have been identified through the five core competencies – self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision making. Prep – Grade 6 students will spend the first 2 weeks focusing on learn-ing expectations, wellbeing, identity and social skills. This focus is called GK’s ‘Connect program’ – Every Face Has A Place (every student belongs).

The ZONES of Regulation will be introduced to all students during these first 2 weeks. Students from prep to Grade 6 will be looking into each zones and developing common language to express emo-tions, behaviours and strategies. Students will develop a common language to articulate thoughts and feelings and develop a toolkit of strategies to navigate their environments (school, home….).

Information about The ZONES of Regulation

The ZONES is a concept designed by an occupational therapist Leah Kuypers to help kids gain skills in the area of self-regulation. Self-regulation (self-control, self-management impulse con-trol) is defined as the best state of alertness of both the body and emotions.

The ZONES are designed to help students recognise when they are in different zones as well as learn how to use strategies to change or stay in the zone they are in. In addition to addressing self-regulation, the students have an increased vocabulary of emotions, skills in reading other’s emotions/expressions, perspective about how others see and react to their behaviour, insight into events that trigger their behaviour, calming and alerting strategies, and problem-solving skills.

At school and at home students can use The ZONES language and talk about concepts of The ZONES as they apply in each environment. Students are encouraged to articulate how they are feeling by relating it to the zone they may be in:

“This is really frustrating me and making me go into the YELLOW ZONE. I need to use a tool to calm down. I will take some deep breaths”.

You may like to discuss with your child/ren tools they are building for each zone. Encourage them to be aware of what zone they are in so they can self-regulate their reactions and be-haviours. Once they are aware of what zone they are in you can help them move back to the GREEN zone (happy, calm, ready to learn).

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GK

is

a

buzz

of

activity

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TEACHING STAFF Principal

Leanne Tingwell

Assistant Principal/

Welfare & Wellbeing

Shannon Whelan

CLASS TEACHERS

Grade Name

ADMINISTRATIVE / SUPPORT

STAFF

Position Name

Business Manager Jodee Jackson

Administration Jenny Bourke (Reception)

Louise Ramsdell (Accounts)

Lia Aiello (First Aid)

Integration Aides Vanessa Brennan

Linda Bridgman

Deanne Clamp

Tamara Faulds

Lisa Lewis

Linda Wain

Library Sarah Harris

Canteen Suzi Cunningham

Computer Techs Ben Iacobucci

Andrew Fox

Out of School Hours Care Narelle Seivers (Co-ord)

Carolyn Smith (Ass.Co-ord)

Kaye Frangos

Leanda Hudson

Sandra Embling

Maintenance Glenys Schubert

Prep F Sandra Febbraro

Prep J Laura Job

Prep L Hannah Longo

Prep R Luisa Rinaldi

1B Jessica Bailey

1M Amy Murray

1N Tara Newton

2D Mel Djukic/Carla DiLizio

2R Rosie Chapman

1/2C Helen Cleary

1/2S Jess Szczepaniak

3J Karina Jankulovski

3W Annemarie Webb

4L Jai Lincoln

4P Marisa Pace

3/4A Sally Armstrong

3/44H Sarah Hill

5D Libby Downey

5G Tiffany Glynn

5K Katya Gaiotto

6G Mary Green

6T Angela Totino

6V Brayden Van Der Pol

5/6O Sherryn Owen

SPECIALIST TEACHERS

Phys. Ed David Blackburn

Art Nadia Cosma

Emma Hankinson

Science Merryn Brown

Data Manager Julie Collins

Boost Liz Blair/Belinda Collett

GK Kitchen Shaz Mackay

Food Technology Sharon Arena

2019 STAFF LIST

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Specialist Lessons – What to bring! With all areas we expect good manners, following our school values and classroom rules.

P.E. with Mr Blackburn

Hat (terms 1 and 4) FULL drink bottle A note from parents if NOT participating in lesson and work to continue on with.

Runners and correct sport uniform Asthma puffer (if required).

Science with Coach Brown

Hat (terms 1 and 4) P-6 drink bottles YEARS 5-6 Charged I-Pads

Visual Arts with Mrs Cosma and Mrs Hankinson

P-6 drink bottle Years 5-6 Fully charged I-Pads PREPS arrive with art smocks on Art smock clearly labelled with 2019 class, placed in la-belled class tub

Hat – if students will be going directly out to recess af-terwards

There will be a note in the bulletin if other items are re-quired

GK Kitchen and Food Technology – Mrs Mackay

Pencil case Smocks drink bottles

CANTEEN

CANTEEN OPENS TUESDAY 5TH FEBRUARY

-Make sure you update your QKR Profiles with new grades-

Welcome to start of another GK year. Canteen starts tomorrow & there may be a couple of things limited until the last of our deliveries arrive today. A letter will go out soon to new families that may have children with allergies, explaining our optional Allergy Alert Tub system for the canteen. If you have any questions about the products being used, please don’t hesitate to contact me & I will do my best to assist you.

Included in this week’s Linkletter are copies of our Menu, Request for Help & the Roster as it stands at the moment. A copy of the menu will also be available on the GK Website & Skoolbag. A hard copy of the roster will be sent home to the relevant families as soon as it is filled. I have 12 Family cook books to give away to the first 12 new volunteers to join our crew!

if you are interested in giving canteen duty a go in 2019, please contact me via the canteen Tues to Thurs 9am to 1.30pm or Fri 11.30am to 1.30pm, via cunningham.suzanne.s@edumail.vic.gov.au or by dropping a note in the class lunch tub. Thank you to those of you who

have already popped your name down for 2019, I am looking forwarding to seeing you all in the coming weeks.

Cheers, Suzi Cunningham

DAY & DATE NAMES

Tues 5th Feb L Emery; M Soutter

Wed 6th Feb K Agius

Thurs 7th Feb K Gersh; K Bate

Fri 8th Feb S Armstrong; L Egan

Tues 12th Feb R Diffey

Wed 13th Feb N Peerman

Thurs 14th Feb N Campbell-Kerr

Fri 15th Feb S Grant; K Agius; S Garnham

TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY

First

week of

the

month

5TH

WEEK

Lisa Emery

Maryana Soutter

Katrina Agius

Naomi Brabender

POSSIBLY 1

VOLUNTEER NEEDED

Kylie Gersh

Katie Bate

Kelly Holford

Catherine Hill (TBC)

VOLUNTEER

NEEDED ASAP

EXTRA DAY –

29th MARCH

Second

week of

the

month

5TH

WEEK

Rachel Diffey

VOLUNTEER NEEDED

EXTRA DAY – 30th APRIL

Nicole Peerman

VOLUNTEER NEEDED

EXTRA DAY – 29th MAY

Nicola Campbell-Kerr

VOLUNTEER NEEDED

EXTRA DAY – 30th MAY

Sally Armstrong

Libby Egan

Laura Allan

EXTRA DAY –

31st MAY

Third

week of

the

month

5TH

WEEK

Chris Cunliffe

VOLUNTEER NEEDED

EXTRA DAY – 30TH JULY

Simone Diaz

VOLUNTEER NEEDED

EXTRA DAY – 31st JULY

Tammy Forbes

Katie Bate

EXTRA DAY –

29TH AUGUST

Samantha Grant

Katrina Agius

Sally Garnham

EXTRA DAY –

30th AUGUST

Fourth

week of

the

month

5TH

WEEK

Christine McFarlane

VOLUNTEER NEEDED

EXTRA DAY – 29th

OCTOBER

Leanne Mills

VOLUNTEER NEEDED

EXTRA DAY – 30th OCTOBER

Sally King

Marie Bonanno

EXTRA DAY – 31st OCTOBER

Belinda Lowe

Kellie Wishart

Simone Plummer

EXTRA DAY – 1

9TH NOVEMBER

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Extra day - 5th week of the month.

L If you are unable to attend, could you please use this roster to try and swap with someone else or call the Canteen on 9431-1599.

L Canteen begins at 9.00am and finishes at 11.45am.

L I can be emailed at cunningham.suzanne.s@edumail.vic.gov.au or for URGENT matters sms 0408172778

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FILLING SANDWICH PRICE ROLL

PRICE

VEGEMITE $3.00 $3.60

CHEESE $3.50 $4.10

HAM $4.50 $5.10

TUNA & MAYO $4.50 $5.10

CHEESE & VEGEMITE $3.50 $4.10

HAM & CHEESE $4.90 $5.50

SALAD $4.50 $5.10

CHEESE & SALAD $5.50 $6.10

HAM & SALAD $6.50 $7.10

HAM CHEESE & SALAD $6.90 $7.50

TUNA MAYO & SALAD $6.50 $7.10

GK SANDWICH/ROLL LIST

(Extras: Roll 60c, cheese 40c & Salad $2)

We use large wholemeal sliced bread for the sandwiches & jumbo

wholemeal rolls for the rolls.

The rolls & sandwiches with salad are available 1st and 4th term un-

less otherwise notified.

The salad items included are lettuce, Carrot, Tomato, Cucumber.

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A big THANK YOU to all the families that took on chook duty over the summer holidays. Not an easy task, especially with the hot weather.

Mrs Webb is now starting a BRAND NEW list of families who would like to do chook duty. Even if you have done chook duty in the past, this is now NULL and VOID. Please email Annemarie if you would like to con-tinue—webb.annemarie.a@edumail.vic.gov.au

But……before you do have a think about the commitment you are making. If you want to do Chook Duty this would mean you will:

> Let out the chooks early in the morning for a graze around the garden and potentially keep them out for the day (preferably ALL DAY OUT on hot days) and lock them back later in the evening;

> Water the garden, especially fruit trees along the fence;

> Clean out their self-filling water feeder if mucky (just use your hand or something else)

> Fill up grain feeder;

> Clean out chook shed – literally rake out all straw, shredded paper and poop on the ground and in their sleeping quarters.

> Putting in fresh straw and shredded paper to ensure their feet are not getting wet and they have mate-rials to scratch around in.

As you can see, this is a timely commitment – at least ½ hour to 45 minutes on one visit. Sure the eggs (if there are any) are nice to get but ultimately you are committing to the welfare of the chickens.

It is likely you will get chook duty once or twice a year – if previous years are any indication. Some families are not able to do holidays, but happy for weekends or vice versa which you can communicate to Annemarie.

Still keen? Great! Email me on webb.annemarie.a@edumail.vic.gov.au

Cheers, Mrs Webb

A New Year…A New Start…

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COMMUNITY NEWS

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COMMUNITY NEWS